(from downsizedc.org) "The President's current budget proposal promises more of the same. It freezes most spending except for national defense, which will rise by 7% for the Pentagon and 11% for Homeland Security. The grand total for the defense budget is a whopping $515 billion, and this does not include spending for Iraq! But . . .

Who are we defending ourselves against, and why should it cost so much? No nation threatens us, nor could threaten us, even with a defense establishment half its current size. Terrorists do threaten us, but they are not fought with vast armies and tanks and planes and ships.

It seems to us that our defense establishment is perfectly tailored to fight enemies we do not have, and to create the conditions of occupation and aggressive forward projection that serve as a recruitment pitch for the enemies we do have.

We are paying through the nose to make ourselves less safe, to hasten bankruptcy, and to shred our Constitution. Meanwhile, our economy crumbles. Thus, we see the need to focus on economic and fiscal issues, while continuing to remain vigilant in our defense of the Bill of Rights."